


Hair Today , Gone Tomorrow

by mysteriousgemstone



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bald Lance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hair, Hair Loss, Homesickness, Langst, Loss of Control, Sad with a Happy Ending, Stress, Supportive Coran (Voltron), balding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:07:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26570047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysteriousgemstone/pseuds/mysteriousgemstone
Summary: He stared at the bundle of locks in his hands, trembling. He thought that he shouldn’t have been so broken up about it – this sort of thing happens to people, he wouldn’t be the first.But it was like, somehow, this was about much more than just hair.
Relationships: Coran & Lance (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) & Everyone
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	Hair Today , Gone Tomorrow

Lance didn’t notice until it was too late. Not that there was anything to be done to stop it. It’s just that perhaps he would have been able to mentally prepare himself if it happened more gradually.

He steadied himself, trying to control his breathing as he looked in the mirror.

Lance had almost all of is hair. He was as bald as the day he was born.

 _It’s nothing,_ he told himself. _It’s not like I’ve lost an arm. Or a loved one. Stop freaking out._

He didn’t allow himself to grieve.

It all started only a matter of _weeks_ ago. He had never heard of it happening so fast. Suddenly his pillow case became more hair than fabric. Brown strands littered Lance’s clothes and belongings. He knew that it wasn’t typical hair fall – he just didn’t want to confront it. He hoped halfheartedly that it would go away if he ignored it.

As if.

It wasn’t until he was showering one day, thankfully alone in the cubicle, when he combed _chunks_ of hair out between his fingers as he shampooed.

He stared at the bundle of locks in his hands, trembling. He thought that he shouldn’t have been so broken up about it – this sort of thing happens to people, he wouldn’t be the first.

But it was like, somehow, this was about much more than just hair.

Rushing to his mirror after getting dried off, Lance didn’t notice much of a difference at first. But then he started brushing segments to the side and revealing large bald spots. He covered his mouth with his hand.

 _Just another thing taken from him, another thing lost. Now he had no choice in what his very_ body _was doing to him._

He had to hide it.

He probably wouldn’t be able to keep it from everyone forever but he didn’t intend to. He wasn’t exactly ashamed or afraid of judgement, it was just that he wasn’t ready yet. He wanted a little time to… pretend. Pretend that everything was okay. That _he_ was okay.

So, as the bald patches grew until there was more scalp than hair, Lance started wearing hats. Large, frumpy beanies to cover everything. Whenever their team would touch down and find a place to shop Lance would scrounge up enough Gak to buy a new head covering.

There’s nothing wrong with a bald person wearing hats, scarves, or wigs. But Lance didn’t like the reason he wore his beanies because they were like a bandage trying to hold together something cracked until it fell apart.

He desperately wanted not to care about all of this anymore.

“Are you cold, Lance?” asked Pidge, raising her eyebrow. “It’s over 85 degrees fahrenheit out here.”

Lance nodded, zipping up his jacket. “Mhm. Been cold lately” he lied.

It was an excuse for his new hat collection. He would have been better off just saying that he enjoyed a new hat collecting hobby. But he was in kind of deep now.

Everyone became concerned with Lance’s nervousness and apparent temperature issues. _You could be getting sick! We’re just worried about you, man._

It was almost funny because they were right, he _could_ be ill, but not in the same way that they were thinking. Lance hadn’t considered it until then but sometimes hair loss, especially so suddenly, could be a sign of a serious medical condition.

He needed to tell _someone._

So Lance found himself waiting until he could catch Coran alone. He remembered that time that Coran projected the universe across the room and showed him where Earth was relative to their location. He asked if he could see it again.

It only made him feel worse, but it made him confront his feelings of being out of control. He couldn’t go home and he couldn’t have hair. It seemed to him silly to compare the two but it was the biggest reason why his hair loss bothered him, besides the jarring difference in his appearance.

He was fine with the others thinking he was upset about his appearance alone.

“Hey,” Lance’s voice squeaked awkwardly. “Coran, you know some things about.. health, right? Like, medical care?”

Coran smiled. “Quite. I’ve been trained in traditional Altean medicine before expanding my education and earning certification in several universe-standard medical practices. Is there any particular reason you’ve asked?”

Lance took a deep breath.

“I’m kind of worried about some symptoms I’ve been having.”

Coran’s smile turned into a frown. “Yes, I’ve been concerned as well. You’ve been very cold lately.”

Lance shook his head. “No, I haven’t. Sorry, but I’ve been fibbing. It’s actually so that I could always wear a hat to cover…it. Um. I hardly ha- …have any hair left.”

Lance looked down and fidgeted.

“Is this true?” asked Coran, shocked. “You had a full head of it only a couple of movements ago!”

Lance nodded.

“That’s very rapid, isn’t it? Have you been feeling anything else out of sorts?”

“That’s just it! I’ve been fine! Well, actually… nevermind.”

Coran opened his mouth for a moment, unsure whether he wanted to pry, but Lance did it for him.

“Everything’s just been going wrong!” Lance broke. “First I get sucked into this action movie plot while my parents probably think I’m dead, then we all almost get killed every day while we fight with each other, and now my own _hair_ decides to jump ship and run. Why can’t _I_ just run away?”

Coran was taken aback.

“Lance, I don’t know what to say. You’ve confided in me that you’re sicked-home before but I didn’t know that you’ve had all of this on your mind.”

“It’s home-sick, Coran” Lance chuckled.

“Well, sick is sick. We’ve all been feeling the… hardships of this war. I just foolishly thought that you’d been holding up better because of your, er, outgoingness. You’re clearly stressed on top of this hair situation.”

Lance had a thought. “You know, us earthlings can lose hair just from that. Stress.”

“Really? Hmm, well, perhaps your symptoms would have come on slower if it weren’t for so much weight on your shoulders. That could also explain Shiro’s premature greying. Galra occupation would certainly cause stress to anyone.”

“Yep. Those darn emotions” said Lance.

“However, if you want I could use a useful machine we’ve got in the back to analyze your blood for any concerning abnormalities. It’s not entirely suited for humans but it should give us a good enough idea.”

Lance chewed his lip. He hated blood tests, but if it would help quell the concerns that he was dying or something than he’d do it.

Later Lance poked at the bandage on his arm while Coran announced that the blood tests were negative. They both could breathe a sigh of relief.

“Coran… thanks.”

Coran smiled and nodded.

-

“So you guys are probably wondering why I called you over” started Lance.

“No, really?” said Keith.

Lance stuck his tongue out.

“Wait, you’re not really sick are you? Omigosh, you’re dying aren’t you?!” squawked Hunk.

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” said Lance, waving his hands. “I’m not sick at all. Coran helped check me out and I’m healthy.”

“But what about being cold all the time?” asked Shiro.

Lance looked a little guilty.

“I lied. I was never extra cold. I just wanted an excuse to cover up. The truth is that… I’m kind of…”

Everyone, if they were sitting, would have been on the edge of their seats.

“…bald.”

Everyone blinked.

“You mean you’re losing your hair? Dang it, Lance, I thought you were toast!” said Hunk.

Shiro had a knowing look. Keith shrugged. Pidge and Allura looked intrigued.

Lance relaxed. He didn’t think that they’d poke fun at him for something he couldn’t help but he was glad to have it confirmed.

“I know, I know. We’ll all mourn the loss of the great Lance’s flowing locks. We need a funeral. A viking funeral! I need to gather any strands laying around and burn them on a boat!” said Lance, wiggling his fingers like flames.

“Wait, there’s no more left on your head?” asked Keith.

“There’s a little bit of thin fuzz everywhere and a couple of long ones sticking out here and there” answered Lance.

“That happened rather fast, didn’t it? Unless it happens faster in humans than Alteans” mused Allura. Pidge nodded.

“Yeah. I guess it’s just different for everyone” Lance sighed.

Shiro put a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “How are you holding up? It’s gotta be tough going through such a big change all of a sudden.”

“Thanks, dude, but I’m okay. Maybe I’ll freak out later” Lance chuckled.

Everyone sat in silence a bit awkwardly.

“You guys can see if you want” said Lance.

Everyone perked up.

Lance slowly raised his hand, let out a breath, and yanked his hat off.

He gave a little smile as everyone took it in.

Allura grinned. “I think it suits you, Lance! May I… touch your head?”

Lance blushed. “S-sure.”

Allura gently brushed her fingers over the soft fuzz on Lance’s scalp. Lance closed his eyes, feeling like a cat. She lowered her hand.

“If you were up for it I’d love to see you in a wig. Sometimes I wish I could find a nice one out here. I had to cut my hair to join the Garrison so I miss it long, you know?” said Pidge.

“A wig?” asked Keith, thinking of powdered wigs and curly yellow halloween costumes, never considering realistic ones were available. “What’s a wig?” asked Allura.

Lance pondered it, then thought of trucker hats with fake hair attached to the back. He smiled.

“I will consider it!”


End file.
